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Recently one of our friends passed away after a 2 year fight with cancer. She fought with grace and love and never backed down or surrenderd to it, but in and through it all, she praised God for the strength she had and for the life she still had. So the day gets closer to our friends funeral. My thoughts are rushing and trying to figure out why.

Why is there death? Well I know the story of Adam and Eve and because of their sin (disobedience to God) death (sin) creeped in. Sin always leads to death.

But what is life? When I think about this question, these thoughts came rushing in. Life is to be in the presence of God. Life is to be free from worldly desires that keep building walls between you and God. You are not experiencing true life when you give in to sin. Ultimately you are giving your life away to death.

But like our friend, she lived to the full because she knew that her Saviour is Jesus and in everything she gave it all to be in His presence. So she might have died in the flesh, and we will miss her dearly, but she LIVES forever. Life forever.

So what is life? Life is being with God.

The good news is that you don’t have to die to be with God, you can live life here on earth with God and experience true life on earth. Like John 10:10 says… “life to the full”

Galatians 2:20 NLT – My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.Gal 2:20 NLT

In everything we do, we must live the way our Saviour teaches us through His Word. His word shows us life. Jesus said that He is the Way, the Truth and the LIFE.

SO WHAT IS LIFE? It is when you have Jesus in your life and you surrender to His will and plan for you. Sometimes it doesn’t make any sense, but because He is LIFE, I think we can trust Him that He knows what He is doing.

Our friend has moved on from this world, but I know, SHE IS FULL OF LIFE, BECAUSE SHE IS IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ONE WHO IS LIFE.

Someone once said. “If you are born once, you die twice, but if you are born twice, you only die once.” It basically means that you will experience eternal death in hell if you don’t have the One Who is LIFE in your life. We need to be born again. Please read this verse (John 3:1-16) to help you understand more…

I want to encourage you, call on Jesus and surrender to Him, so that you also can have LIFE in abundance. If you have never surrendered to God, please follow this link and follow the steps on the website, so that you also can have ETERNAL LIFE by being part of a spiritual family of believers. https://www.ligenlewe.com/salvation/

32 “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!” 33 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.” 34 But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, 35 I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. 36 I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! 37 The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!” Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!” 38 Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. 39 David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before. “I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again. 40 He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine. 41 Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, 42 sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. 43 “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. 44 “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled. 45 David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel!

47 And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!” 48 As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. 49 Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground. 50 So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. 51 Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head.

10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

8 And David said to Ahimelech, “Is there not here on hand a spear or a sword? For I have brought neither my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.” 9 So the priest said, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, there it is, wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you will take that, take it. For there is no other except that one here.” And David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.”

“Do I have what it takes? GOD says … Will you take what you have?”Get your sword.

Acts 3:2-7

2 And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

What can you give? Peter and John gave “Jesus” and brought healing to the man

What did the man give? He gave his attention. Expecting to receive something. Then God exceeded his expectation. He wanted money, but God gave him strong legs.

Some of you need to give Attention with Expectation to what God is telling you. Look at HIM!

Get your sword.

Efs 6:17

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—

Heb 4:12

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

I think when people make promises it is a test of character. Let me explain. If I make a promise to someone it is my responsibility to act upon that promise. If I am a man of my word, I need to remind myself of that promise I made and then bring it to completion. The person recieving the promise have the right to remind me on those promises.

What makes promises a building block of character is that we tend to take promises lightly and we just make them without considering what it will cost us. When we are confronted why we are not giving or doing what we said we would, then we need to “man-up” and take responsibility. If we dont do it… our character won’t grow. Integrity is such a big part of our character.

We must begin to put value on promises again. Our Yes must be Yes and our No must be No.

As Christian it is my view point that we need to be like Christ. He is the standard of how we are supposed to live. Look at this verse in the Bible…

When I think about promises and we keep them, it will bring us to a place where we can show people that we are men and woman that has great character. People that will keep their word and maybe, they will give God glory because we are faithful in what we do and say.

Ezekiel 36:26-27I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

The most important organ that we have is our heart. Yes all organs are important, but our hearts are life or death. Now, I will be the first one to tell you that I don’t know a lot about organs and especially hearts, but I can tell you that everything is circulated through the body with the blood that is pumped through the heart.

The Bible talks a lot about the heart and the biggest message that I hear is, that our spiritual “hearts” need to change. Before we accepted what Jesus did for us on the Cross, we were sinners and lost and without hope. Our hearts was following the desires of the flesh. But Jesus died on the cross and gave Himself as sacrifice to redeem us from darkness. Jesus reconciled Man to God. Jesus became our Mediator.

The past few months things has been tough and I was very frustrated with a lot of things. I really didn’t know why, but I would lash out because of the smallest thing. Then God started to work with me and I surrendered to His guidance. The Holy Spirit showed me that I need to change my heart. My heart was beginning to fade from the teachings of God’s Word. I wanted to do everything my way and saw the problem with everybody else around me. I would say… I lost my heart.

You see when our hearts are inline with Jesus, you will start to live life with the character that Jesus showed us. Jesus becomes our STANDARD.

In every part of our lives (in marriage, in friendships, in family, in our jobs ect.) we need to search our hearts, like David asked God to search his heart for any wrong. We need to take out the garbage from our hearts and fill our hearts with the Holy Spirit. Let the blood of Jesus “pump” through you to cleanse you.

So, I started to focus on changing my heart. I knew that the Holy Spirit was telling me that the heart is the issue. During this time I wrote a sermon and the phrase came out:

“If you DON’T change your heart, you will be a SPECTATOR of what God is doing around you and not a PARTAKER of what God wants to do through you!” I did not want to be a spectator of what God was doing around us. I wanted to be in the middle of what God wanted to through me. So I started… do I still feel like throwing my toys out of the cot? Sure, but I started to focus… and I must say, the frustration is much less.

REMEMBER!!!!! God knows your heart. And He wants you to have a healthy heart. Not just in the flesh, but also in the spirit. So I want to encourage everybody reading this to change you heart and to be inline with God’s heart.

2 Chronicles 12:7 (NLT)When the lord saw their change of heart, he gave this message to Shemaiah: “Since the people have humbled themselves, I will not completely destroy them and will soon give them some relief. I will not use Shishak to pour out my anger on Jerusalem.

What do you think? Do you like doing things differently than usual? I for one love doing things I know and keeping to things I know works. But after the few weeks I had with our kids doing sports almost everyday from right after school, till evening, man I am tired. Now, today the sporting season is almost done except for 1 or 2 games that’s left, it feels weird. Our momentum is fast paced and to come to almost standstill, feels unreal. It’s almost as if you don’t know what you have to do.

You might not have these hectic sports going on in your home, but you know when your routine in the morning is changed just a little, it can feel if your running around like a headless chicken. Running in all directions with no direction.

Doing something new can be scary. Doing something out of your comfort zone can keep you frozen in fear of what might go wrong. Change is not always nice.

I think our Spiritual lives are like that. God allows us to go through certain things to strech us, so that something new can be birthed and make a difference in someone else’s life.

Jesus came to earth with a mission that was so radicaly different than what Israel thought the Messiah would do. But Jesus came to do something new. Something out of this world and the devil could not stop Him. Jesus came and reconciled man with God. The world looked for a earthly king, but God sent Jesus to be the King of kings. A King that rules over heaven and earth.

Something New. Something out of the box. I want to challenge you en encourage you to let God help you to experience something new.

Where things are new, there is refreshments. And if I look around me, people need refreshments in their hearts, spirit and mind. We need things to be new to grow, to revitalize and to blossom.

So be ready for something new from God. Look to Him for that new heart, new spirit and new mind. He makes all things new !!!

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Isaiah 43:19 NLT

Everyday we see beauty around us. In my case it is my beautiful wife and my kids. She is such a great wife and a awesome mom to our 3 kids. Every morning she is the one making sure I get up at the right time… and that is no small task. I love my sleep.

Beautiful things make us happy and we love being in or surrounded by beautiful places. In this picture above, we were in Stellenbosch, South Africa and it is a beautiful place to walk. The gardens are just beautiful. This was one of our favorite outings as a family and we enjoyed it very much.

Everyday has its own new challenges and I know that we don’t want to know it, but sometimes it is for our own good that we have challenges. The bible says that we need to grow. Growing is part of life and if there isn’t growth happening, we call it a problem.

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

I see so many times that people who follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, struggle in this area of life. When troubles come, they loose their joy and tend to forget who they are. Now I am not saying it is always easy. As a follower of Christ, I know that it is tough out there. But we need to know who we are. We are children of God. We are a chosen people and God loves us very much.

James teaches us, … consider it an opportunity for great joy. Instead of loosing your joy, use the situation to build up your joy.

But what can we do to keep our joy intact? One thing I have learned is to meditate on the Word of God. When we fill ourselves with His Words we invite Him to be the foundation in our lives. We need a strong foundation to keep on standing when the stroms come.

To enjoy every moment, we need to find joy in every moment. Jesus said He will never leave you alone. That is a promise that we can trust and build our faith upon.

Every day we are confronted with advertisements. Billboards are a great way to advertise these products or ideas. Some of these billboards we have next to the highways in some cities, can be in your face with temptations and controversy. The world will make you look.

Sometimes it’s funny, and sometimes it is just cold and unnecessary.

But today I want to refer to them as this small Quotes we read on social media. Small billboards that is in your face with good and bad information.

Just to be clear. I am not going to say that quotes we use daily to lift up our spirits are wrong, we love reading small billboards. Quotes from great leaders and sometimes even quotes from Jesus Himself. We are so focused on these billboards that we sometimes believe it is ok to read one Quote a day in the hoping that we will be better people and have a great relationship with Jesus.

Matt 7:24 – 29 (AMP)

Mat 7:24 So everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts upon them [obeying them] will be like a sensible (prudent, practical, wise) man who built his house upon the rock. Mat 7:25 And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. Mat 7:26 And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not do them will be like a stupid (foolish) man who built his house upon the sand. Mat 7:27 And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell–and great and complete was the fall of it. Mat 7:28 When Jesus had finished these sayings [the Sermon on the Mount], the crowds were astonished and overwhelmed with bewildered wonder at His teaching, Mat 7:29 For He was teaching as One Who had [and was] authority, and not as [did] the scribes.

To hear the words of Jesus is great. And it can change your thinking. But what happens when you look up from your phone or computer. Do you still remember the Words of Jesus and does it still move you to change the way you live? If I see a photo of an apple, it will not give me the nutrients I need. I have to eat the apple to have the effects. If I see a picture of rain, did I experience the rain? NO… It has to physically rain to experience the rain. I have to get wet to say that I have experienced the rain. Then only will the rain have effects.

We see two builders in this passage and there is a big difference between the two. Both love building, both know how to use tools. Only one made an effort to make sure that he builds on rock. Only one went deeper. Only one build with a foundation. Quotes are not foundational in our spiritual lives. We need the speaker of the words. JESUS

If we live out our believes as Billboards, we won’t have the ability to fight of the rain. The rain (temptations) will come in like a flood. And you will not have enough strength to stand.

God gives us a promise in Matt 24:35

Mat 24:35 (AMP) Sky and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

The words of Jesus are life changing and it will break down the bondages of the enemy. But we need to speak the words of Jesus with faith. We need to believe in Jesus that spoke the words and not just the letters of the words. The Spirit gives LIFE to the words.

Joh 5:24 (AMP) I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, the person whose ears are open to My words [who listens to My message] and believes and trusts in and clings to and relies on Him Who sent Me has (possesses now) eternal life. And he does not come into judgment [does not incur sentence of judgment, will not come under condemnation], but he has already passed over out of death into life.

If I know my wife from a distance, I don’t really know her, I need to be close to know her. If I only know God from a distance, then I don’t really know Him. I need to get into His presence to know Him.

I want to encourage you today to not only live with the quotes of people in mind, but to form your thinking around the word of God and to let Jesus make a difference in your life. May Jesus not only be your billboard in life, but through the Holy Spirit BE the SUBSTANCE in your life that where ever you go, you will be led by the Holy Spirit through relationship.

To know the REAL person who said the words in your life, is more fulfilling than to READ the billboard.

Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy.

I am convinced that when we first step in the direction of God, God will reveal His power. This morning I read in my quite time the following passage, and I would like to my heart with you.

How often do we wonder where our "Savior" is. We look around us and see the human, carnal struggle and wonder how are we going to be saved from this? Before I go further, quickly read this passage in John 1:43-51

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” Philip was from Bethsaida, Andrew and Peter’s hometown. Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, “We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.” “Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” “Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied. As they approached, Jesus said, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.” “How do you know about me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.” Then Nathanael exclaimed, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!” Jesus asked him, “Do you believe this just because I told you I had seen you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth. ”John 1:43-51 NLT http://bible.com/116/jhn.1.43-51.NLT

The first thought is, COME FOLLOW ME. Jesus gives us all the opportunity to follow Him. The devil wants us to follow other things and throws us with a lot of distractions, but there is only ONE who we can follow, which gives us the ability to SEE.

COME AND SEE FOR YOURSELF. I believe that we are saved for others. To share the good news with friends and family. But it is the Holy Spirit who draws them. I believe we must pray that God will draw people and that they will find the strength to stand up for themselves and to come and see. Where in our life’s choices, must we stand up and trust God to see Him? Are you discouraged? Flat on the ground? All God requires you to do is come and see. Nathaniel was negative when he heard the good news … "can anything good come out of Nazareth?" but when he ROSE and SAW Jesus, it changed his outlook on life. I want to encourage you today, ARISE FROM YOUR SITUATION, WALK AND SEE that Jesus wants to SHARE WITH YOU His heart for you.

Before you could even see, know, that Jesus ALREADY SAW YOU IN YOUR SITUATION. He knows where you are, He knows your heart and mind. He waits with an open heart, with arms wide open to receive you. Every day is a hug day. Jesus wants to hold you today.

When you BELIEVE the words of Jesus, you will SEE GREATER THINGS THAN BEFORE. We think we have seen great things, but in faith we come to God, and He SHOWS us His Glory. WE WILL EXPERIENCE THE GLORY. Keep on believing His promises to you. When you come and see, life as you know is, will change and it will be better, even in the storms, it will be better, because Jesus is with you there in the storm.

ALL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.

May you experience a wonderful day, and remember … You are precious !!!

I write this knowing that in every season of our lives, we worry. When I look around, people worry about what to do when it is hot or cold. We worry about what will happen in every situation that is unfamiliar and with that worry we so many times speak negatively about the outcome. Worrying was never part of our design. We were made to trust in God.

Now I am the first to confess that I worry about people and many things. What I have realised is that by worrying about anything, I tend to want to take control of everything. I believe that God wants to take care of us, but we need to let go and give Him the opportunity to do it. When we are in control of everything, we will spend all of our time worrying. We want to do it all in our own strength.

When we worry, it places unnecessary stress on our souls. Our bodies start to feel the weight and ultimately, we begin to grow weak in our faith. Our faith is the thing that needs to be focused on God, so that worry won’t kill us. “Killing us softly”.

Worry is a silent killer that we daily invite into our lives. Who would you rather invite to stay with you? Life or death?

Choose to invite God into your life today and give Him the worries of your heart. It is a constant battle and therefor we need to change our mindset to overcome the killer, called WORRY.

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
1 Peter 5:7 NLT

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own u Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Matthew 6:31-34 NLT

When we give everything over to God…. this is what will happen….
Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7 NLT